Architect

Career Overview

Architects plan and design houses, factories, office buildings, and other structures.

Education

There are typically three main steps to becoming a licensed architect: completing a bachelor’s degree in architecture, gaining relevant experience through a paid internship, and passing the Architect Registration Examination.

Future Outlook

Employment of architects is projected to grow 1 percent from 2019 to 2029, slower than the average for all occupations. Architects are expected to be needed to make plans and designs for the construction and renovation of homes, schools, healthcare facilities, and other structures, particularly in the area of sustainable design.

Work Environment

Architects spend much of their time in offices, where they develop plans, meet with clients, and consult with engineers and other architects. They also visit construction sites to prepare initial drawings and review the progress of projects to ensure that clients’ objectives are met.

Recommended High School Courses

Physics
English
Advanced Functions
Calculus & Vectors
70% minimum for each

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Management of Material Resources - Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.
Management of Personnel Resources - Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
Mathematics - Using mathematics to solve problems.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Negotiation - Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
Operations Analysis - Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
Quality Control Analysis - Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Systems Analysis - Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
Systems Evaluation - Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
Flexibility of Closure - The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Mathematical Reasoning - The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Number Facility - The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Perceptual Speed - The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Speed of Closure - The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Create graphical representations of structures or landscapes.
Incorporate green features into the design of structures or facilities.
Direct design or development activities.
Prepare contracts, disclosures, or applications.
Document technical design details.
Discuss designs or plans with clients.
Design structures or facilities.
Inspect facilities or sites to determine if they meet specifications or standards.
Perform marketing activities.
Prepare detailed work plans.
Supervise engineering or other technical personnel.
Investigate the environmental impact of projects.
Design water conservation systems.
Prepare procedural documents.
Analyze costs and benefits of proposed designs or projects.

Schools

Academy Of Art University

Alfred State College

Appalachian State Univers...

Arizona State University

Auburn University

Ball State University

Barnard College

Belmont University

Boston University

Bowling Green State Unive...

Cal Poly Pomona

Cal Poly- San Luis Obispo...

California Baptist Univer...

Connecticut College

Cooper Union

Delaware Technical And Co...

Drexel University

Drury University

El Camino College

El Centro College- Dallas...

Fairmont State University

Ferris State University

Florida Agricultural And...

Florida Atlantic Universi...

Florida International Uni...

Illinois Institute Of Tec...

Iowa State University

Judson University

Kansas State University-...

Kent State University

Lawrence Technological Un...

Louisiana State Universit...

Louisiana Tech University

North Carolina State Univ...

North Dakota State Univer...

Oklahoma State University

Parsons School Of Design

Pennsylvania State Univer...

Pratt Institute

Rensselaer Polytechnic In...

Rhode Island School Of De...

Suny At Buffalo

Suny At Delhi

Suny Farmingdale State Co...

Texas Tech University

Thaddeus Stevens College...

The New School- Nyc Campu...

Thomas Jefferson Universi...

Tulane University

Tuskegee University

University Of Arizona- Co...

University Of California-...

University Of Cincinnati

University Of Colorado- D...

University Of Detroit Mer...

University Of Florida

University Of Hartford

University Of Houston

University Of Illinois At...

University Of Illinois- C...

University Of Kansas- Law...

University Of Massachuset...

University Of Memphis

University Of Miami

University Of Minnesota-...

University Of Nebraska- L...

University Of Nebraska- O...

University Of New Mexico

University Of Oklahoma

University Of Oregon

University Of South Flori...

University Of Tennessee-...

University Of Utah

University Of Wisconsin-...

University Of Wyoming

Utah Valley University

Washington State Universi...

Worcester Polytechnic Ins...

Algonquin College

Athabasca University

Carleton University

Centennial College

Mcgill University

Ryerson University

Universite De Montreal...

Université Laval

University Of British...

University Of Calgary

University Of Manitoba

University Of Toronto-...

University Of Waterloo

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Curt Pozan Trades Scholar...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$48,700.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$80,750.00 /yr

High End:

$137,620.00 /yr

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References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.